Second Hand Propaganda

"I thought I was a fool for no-one. Oh, baby, I'm a fool for you. You're the queen of the superficial. How long before you tell the truth?"

I was struck by the strangest memory this morning. I was lying in bed, listening to the sickeningly addictive new Muse single and not thinking about much of anything, when I suddenly remembered Sinn Féin figurehead Gerry Adams, specifically the way they used to dub his interviews on English TV when I was young. As far as I'm aware, this practice left the wording of what he was saying exactly as it was, its purpose - apparently - not to change his message, but to dilute it by placing a buffer between the not-especially-charismatic Adams and us, the gullible viewers. This buffer was usually a well-spoken Englishman, which made being exposed to Adams's second hand propaganda an experience akin to hearing a Bin Laden speech read in a Texan accent.

I'm not sure I could handle having that level of control over someone's words. I mean, they could be saying something very serious and important, and you could just go crazy with it.

Gerry: "More than that, when elements within the British and Irish establishments and rejectionist unionism delayed progress, it was the IRA leadership which authorised a number of significant initiatives to enhance the peace process."

You: "Bombs. Hahahahahaha. There are bombs everywhere. Everywhere! Ireland's ours, all ours!"

Gerry: "If republicans are to prevail, if the peace process is to be successfully concluded and Irish sovereignty and re-unification secured, then we have to set the agenda - no-one else is going to do that."

You: "The queen's a cunt."

And so on.